


Crack Of Sunlight

by SuperIceLight



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Dhampire Bella Swan, F/M, Hybrid Bella Swan, Jacob and Bella are bffs (Twilight), Non-Human Bella Swan, This will follow canon relativly closely at first, and then it will only follow the broadest strokes, but there are changes all throughout the story, i've taken canon out back and shot it, slower burn than canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23931622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperIceLight/pseuds/SuperIceLight
Summary: Bella Swan is not human. Neither is her mother, or her grandmother or - well, any of her family, really, except her father, who doesn't even know about it.Moving to Forks, Bella expects nothing unusual - she just wants to finish High School and hang out with her best friend, Jacob.Then she notices the vampires in town - and it all goes downhill from there.
Relationships: Bella Swan & Sam Uley, Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Jacob Black & Bella Swan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. I was expecting this. Charlie was Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. 

Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.

"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. "You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"

"Mom's fine", I said automatically. Talking to Charlie was weird. He's my dad, but we don't know each other very well. I had only seen him once a year at most for the last 4 years and never before that. "It's good to see you, too, Dad."

I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily intothe trunk of the cruiser.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.

"A car?" I asked. There's a reason Dad always drives the cruiser, instead of owning his own car and it starts with m and ends on oney. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's a gift", Dad said. "You can't walk everywhere and I know you don't like the cruiser."

I frowned. Dad knew I didn't like gifts. He smiled at me.

"I'll feel better if you have your own car. It's safer."

He wouldn't budge on this, I knew, and the blatant appeal to my guilt complex worked too.

With a sigh, I gave in and asked: "What kind of car?"

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."

"Where did you find it?"

"It used to be Billy's, but he's in a wheelchair now, so he can't drive anymore. He offered to sell it to me cheap."

"Nice of him", I said, trying to remember Billy's car from our annual fishing trips in the summer. "The red truck? Isn't that older than you?"

"Hey", Dad said, then grimaced. "Billy did a lot of work on the motor. It's only a few years old, really. And you like the truck!"

He was right. Driving in the big, red, old truck was always a highlight for me, especially when I got to sit in the front.

I couldn't really make him give it back, anyways. "Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate it."

"I want you to be happy here", Dad said, looking straight ahead.

"Thank you", I said honestly.

The conversation died down, and I stared out the window in silence.

Coming to Forks was always a bit like coming to an alien planet - everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.

It was beautiful, if a bit much. I knew I'd get used to it in a while, I always did.

  
  


Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had — the early ones.

It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard.

The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window — these were all a part of my summers. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a second hand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair Charlie had bought in preparation for my birth was still in the corner.

I looked at it uncomfortably. Dad had never gotten over my mom leaving him when I was just a few hours old.

She told him it was because of the dark, gloomy weather, that she could never be happy here and that she didn't want the same fate for me.

It broke his heart and I always felt like he blamed himself for not being enough. It broke Mom's heart too, to lie to him like that.

I shook my head to dislodge these thoughts. It was a long time ago and not my fault.

School was enough to worry about for the evening.

Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven — now fifty-eight — students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All of the kids here had grown up together — their grandparents had been toddlers together.

My education was far from anything you could call standart - my mom and grandma homeschooled me for the first four years of my life and even after that, I moved from school to school too often to really form friendships.

Or learn many social skills. This would only be the second school where I stayed for more than one year - and the first time I shared a class with my agemates.

I sighed. If I couldn't find a niche in any of the big schools in Phoenix, even trying to fit in here would be a waste of time.

At least I could hang out with Jacob more often - I was good friends with all of Billy's children, but Jacob and I had been best friends since the first time we met, when I was thirteen and coming to visit Dad for the first time.

It's not all going to be bad, Bella Swan, I told myself firmly. School isn't the whole day long and you've finally got a chance to really get to know your dad.

  
  


Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station.

I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor.

  
Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by a procession of pictures of me, one for every year.

  
  


It was weird to look at them like that - apart from the photos Dad took, they weren't really years apart.

  
The pictures looked deceptively normal. Looking at them, it seemed like I was just a normal girl, who hit puberty early and fast - I looked like I had finished growing by the time I was twelve.

In truth, that had happened when I was seven years old, as it had for my mother and my grandmother, and my great-grandmother too.

And Dad didn't know any of that.

I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket — which had the feel of a biohazard suit — and headed out into the rain.

  
  
  
  
  


I looked at the map of the school I'd been given in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me. I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.

  
  


I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.

Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door.

The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair.

I went up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason, and gave him the slip he was supposed to sign for me.

He gawked at me when he saw my name — not an encouraging response — and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. 

I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting… and boring. I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on.

When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" 

"Bella", I said reflexively. It felt like everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.

"Where's your next class?" he asked.

I had to check in my bag. "Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."

I tried to look at the boy, but I still felt like I was being stared at.

"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way. I'm Eric", the boy offered.

I smiled tentatively. "Thanks." It's just curiosity, I told myself, they don't get many new people here. He doesn't have a reason to be mean.

We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I tried not to let my paranoia show.

"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.

"Very."

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

"Three or four times a year."

"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.

"Sunny," I told him.

"You don't look very tan."

"My mother is part albino."

He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. Great job, I thought, way to ruin your first impression already, Bella. That must be a new record.

We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.

"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful. Maybe people in small towns were more forgiving of social ineptitude.

I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.

The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat.

After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. At least I never needed the map.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I was too anxious to keep up.

When we stepped into the cafeteria, she walked me to a table full of her friends and sat me down.

I was glad of that, because as soon as I stepped into the room I smelled them.

A vampire. I froze for a moment, panic clogging up my senses. When nothing bad happened, I looked up and tried to scan the room while pretending to listen to the girl introduce me to her friends.

Eric waved at me from across the room. I shakily smiled at him, and then I spotted them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room.

There were five of them. They were talking to quickly and quietly to be seen by humans and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them.

They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big — muscled like a serious weight lifter,with dark, curly hair. Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.

The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back.

The short girl was pixie like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.

And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes — purplish, bruise like shadows.

The vampires, I realized, and there were five of them and they were hungry. And yet, they sat here, in this mass of people, and did nothing.

  
I didn't understand. Everything I knew about vampires told me that they should look at this like a buffet, not trying to badly blend in with the students.

"Oh, have you noticed the Cullens?" The girl from spanish asked, giggling. I watched the boy with red hair look up and in our direction and quickly dropped my gaze as our eyes met.

He didn't look interested, like he'd just reacted to her saying his name.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife", she said under her breath.

I glanced sideways at the vampires. The redhead, who was looking at his tray now, was picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his lips barely opening. Talking to the others probably. Had he noticed something off about me?

"They are..." I struggled to find a way to ask after them without being strange.

"Beautiful!" The girl said with another giggle. "They're all together though — Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." 

Her voice held shock and condemnation as if this was just normal small town gossip, I thought, so they must be keeping their status hidden. Not that they were very good at blending in.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins — the blondes — and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything", I said, trying to fish for more information.

"I guess so," the girl admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. I needed to find out why. 

"I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.

Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the vampires sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here, or heard of strange disappearances.

"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

I smiled at her apologetically. "Do they always eat like that?" I asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Yes", the girl confirmed, "And they never really talk to anyone else, either. But Dr. Cullen is on very good terms with the whole town, so people overlook it."

I nodded. Now or never. "So are they the strangest thing here or should I look out for more surprises?"

The girl gave me a pity laugh. "I don't know what strange things happen in Phoenix, but a weirdly close family is extraordinarily strange for Forks, yes."

We watched the vampires leave the room together in silence, before the topic of conversation changed.

I sat at the table with the girl and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.

I broke the silence only to ask her about the girl's name, face burning red.

"Jessica", Angela said, turning red in solidarity.

  
  
  


When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized one of the vampires, sitting next to that single open seat. If they've already been here for two years with no strange happenings, he wouldn't start killing people in biology class, I tried to convince myself.

As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face — it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly, shocked and scared. I stumbled over a book in the walkway as my pulse picked up and had to catch myself on the edge of a table.

The girl sitting there giggled.

  
  


Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I might have liked him, were I not in a state of panic.

Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. 

He's not going to cause a scene right now, I told myself, he was fine for two years.

I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, freaked out by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.

I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he couldn't stand the smell of me.

Maybe they moved here because he lost control in Alaska and killed someone in public, I thought sardonically.

I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and pretended to pay attention to the teacher.

I took notes carefully, always looking down, trying not to draw attention to me or move too much.

  
I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the vampire next to me.

During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. 

He's going to try to eat me, I thought, tensing further as well. I smelled like a strange human, my relatives told me, so he might not have noticed anything off.

If he attacked me, I wouldn't go down easily.

But eventually, the bell rang, and the vampire sprinted out of the door at a speed only barely humanly possible.

  
I stared after him, half out of my seat, feeling my heartbeat in my ears. I sucked in a shaky breath, trying to calm down before I hyperventilated.

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.

I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way.

"Bella", I corrected, smiling at him, glad to see a friendly human face after that horrible lesson.

"I'm Mike."

"Hi, Mike."

"Do you need any help finding your next class?"

"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."

"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.

We walked to class together; he was a chatterer — he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.

But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."

So he didn't usually struggle with his control like that. I cringed, had he noticed something?

"I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."

"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. If he'd sat by me, I wouldn't have needed to fear for my life.  
  
  


I went up to the teacher first thing, still shaky and anxious. None of the vampires were in my P.E. class, thank god.

"Um", I said, after Coach Clapp signed my slip. "I have a - a condition -"

The Coach listened to my stammered explanation with a frown, looking the medical certificate over sceptically.

"But you can do sport?" he asked.

"Yes", I said, "Just not things with other people."

"We'll work something out", he said. "You should talk to Dr. Cullen, he's a very good doctor. He might be able to help you."

"I'll ask my dad about him", I lied. That was the last thing I was going to do.

I watched the class play volleyball the rest of the lesson. I was not bad at sport, quite the opposite - my biggest struggle was seeming human while doing it.

I shuddered as I remembered all the injuries I had caused the first few times I had tried to play a team sport. I didn't enjoy lying to my teachers, but a faked certificate was better than breaking someone's leg.

  
  


The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder.

When I walked into the warm office, I spotted Edward Cullen standing at the desk and turned around and walked back out.

I waited by the door until the vampire was done trying to convince the receptionist to let him trade our shared biology class with another time.

So it was about me. But that didn't seem very confrontational. There must have been something I was missing.

I couldn't hide from him forever, I decided, and stepped through the door again.

Edward tensed when he noticed me entering, glared at me with enough hatred to make me regret my decision and stormed out.

"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.

"Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.  
  


When I got home, I called my grandma.

"Bella?" she asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Um", I said, "There's vampires in Forks."

"What", Grandma hissed.

"I asked a girl from Spanish about strange things happening, and she said there wasn't anything weird going on so I don't think they hunt in town? But one of them reacted really strangely to me and I'm worried."

"Strangely how? And do you know his name?"

"He looked really angry with me, and he seemed like he couldn't stand being in the same room with me. Edward Cullen."

"Cullen?" Grandma asked. "I think I've heard that name before. I'll ask my mother. Do you want me to come check up on him?"

"I can deal with it", I said, hand squeezing the phone thighter.

"I'll ask my mother", Grandma repeated, "Call me if anything changes and I'll come to you as fast as I can."

"You don't need to do that", I murmured.

"Hear you soon", Grandma said, laughing.

I sighed as she hung up.  
  
  


This was only the first day, I thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Surprisingly, the next day went better.

It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier

because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Eric joining us.

I didn't feel like people stared at me quite as much as I had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.

And it was better, of course, because Edward Cullen didn't come to school at all.

All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his glares.

But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica — trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely — I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.

When he didn't show up the whole lunch break, I felt relieved. His siblings were still vampires, but I didn't have any classes with them and they didn't pay any attention to me, so I felt less stressed about them.

I had my desk for myself in Biology, which was honestly the way I prefered it. The rest of the day went much smoother.

After school, I went grocery shopping. Charlie didn't have much food in the house, which made my worry for his health, a little.

The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.

When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Dad wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.

When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair up into a ponytail, and wrote my mom an email, carefully omitting any mentions of the Cullens.

My mother was a worrier, and I didn't want to ruin her trip by making her anxious.

  
  


After I was more or less done with homework, I went downstairs and flipped through Dad's phone book for the Black's number.

"Black", Billy's familiar voice greeted me.

"Billy!" I said, "Hi! It's me, Bella!"

"Bella!" Billy replied, "It's great to hear you. How was school?"

"Alright", I said, grinning. "I think I've already made a mortal enemy, but at least I got some people to sit with at lunch."

Billy laughed, "Good to hear, Bell, good to hear. Do you want to talk to Jacob?"

"Yes, please, if he's around."

I heard some rustling through the phone, then Jacob's voice shouted into my ear enthusiastically.

"Bella!"

"Jacob!" I shouted back, laughing. "What's up?"

"Are you free today?" Jacob asked, "Quil, Embry and I are going to hang out on the second beach."

"Sure", I replied, "But I'm having dinner with Dad first. Think you'll still be there later?"

"Of course!", Jacob said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Do you think you can get us a beer?"

"Jake! I need to drive!" I grinned, "Maybe when I go to Port Angeles. I feel like everyone here knows who I am already."

Then I heard Dad drive up to the house and realized I had forgotten about the food.

"Jake hold on, Dad's coming home and I need to put the steaks in the broiler. Don't hang up!"

I left the phone dangling from it's cord as I hurried to take the potatoes out of the oven. I could hear Jacob laughing at me and talking to Billy.

"Don't laugh at me, Jacob Black!" I shouted just as Dad came in.

"Bella?" he asked, as Jacob laughed harder.

"Hi, Dad!" I shouted back. "Jacob's making fun of me!"

"I am not!" I could hear Jake protest.

"What are you cooking?" Dad asked.

"Potatoes and steak", I replied.

"Can I get mine well done?" Dad asked sceptically.

I rolled my eyes. Just because I liked my steak rare doesn't mean I can't judge how other people like theirs.

"Can you make the salad while I finish up with Jake?"

"Sure, Bells", Dad said, "It smells great already."

  
  


After I said goodbye to Jacob, we ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. We were well suited for living together.

"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.

"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."

"Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."

Charlie surprised me by looking angry.

"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder.   


"We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature — I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should — camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."

It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.

I backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more complimentary.

"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."

After a bit more silence, I asked: "Forks is a pretty safe town, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Dad asked, sounding surprised.

"I just - in Phoenix, it seemed like there was always some murderer or robber on the loose. That doesn't happen here, does it?"

"No", Dad said slowly. "Once in a while, a few houses get broken into, but the last murder here happened while I was a child. A sordid story, very tragic."

I nodded.   
  
  


When we finished eating, Dad insisted on doing the dishes, so I could go meet with Jacob sooner.

I thanked him, vowed to do them tomorrow and got in my truck. Jacob's birthday was a few days ago, and I had gotten him a present in Phoenix to celebrate. I checked that it was in the car with me and drove off.

The way to La Push was familiar. I smiled in anticipation of seeing Jacob, Embry and Quil again.

Jacob was my best friend, and his friends Embry and Quil were good friends too.

When I arrived at the Second Beach, the boys were playing a game of ball. "Jake!" I called, waving.

"Bella!"

I jogged towards him at a speed I hoped was reasonable for a human. He ran towards me, and we hugged tightly as we met.

"Happy belated birthday!" I said, thrusting the small gift at him.

"Thank you!" Jacob said, unwrapping it immediately. The gift contained a small model car. I knew Jacob was an enthusiastic mechanic and when I saw it, I knew I had to get it for him.

"Hi, Bella", Embry called to me.

"Hi, Embry, Quil", I said, smiling as we fistbumped. "You got really big, Embry."

Embry smirked down at me.

"Hey, I'm tall too!" Jacob said, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"Yes", I said, keeping my face perfectly straight as I turned to Quil. "As the only one who's not taller than me, you're my new best friend."

"Thanks?" Quil said as Jacob pretended to be upset.

"So what are we doing?" I asked.   
  
  


When I got back home, it was the middle of the night and I snuck into the house, hoping I wouldn't wake Dad up. The day was absolutely worth it being tired in school tomorrow.   
  
  


The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school.

Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.

Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, already planning to invite Jacob too.

By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school. I hoped his siblings would follow him.

I had also gotten a call back from my grandma, who informed me that the Cullens were a coven that didn't hunt humans at all, prefering to hunt animals instead.

I was surprised about that. I hadn't known that was possible. But it did a lot to calm my nerves.

  
  


Dad worked most of the weekend, so I drove up to La Push after doing some cleaning.

Jacob and I met at his house this time, and we did our homework together before hanging out with his new project car in the garage for the rest of the day.   
  


People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took hisbaccustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy.   
  


All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point.

When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.

"Ew." Snow. There went my good day.

He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes — you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure I have." I paused. "On TV."

Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us — in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I wasn't used to snow, so I kept my mouth shut. I didn't like it. It was wet and cold and it got everywhere.

  
  


I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself.

Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He andbJessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.

Jessica pulled on my arm.

"Hello? Bella? What do you want?"

"Just a soda", I replied distractedly. He was back.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked, a touch of concern in her voice.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes on the floor.

I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.

I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with growing concern, how I was feeling.

I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.

Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away. They don't eat people, I reminded myself. And even if he noticed something off, it's not a crime to be weird.   
  
  


Inside the biology classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walkingbaround the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a fewbminutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.  


I noticed immediately when he stepped into the room. I tried to keep my breathing even.

When I heard the chair next to me move, I kept my eyes carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.

"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.

I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled — even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel.   


His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.

"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

I looked at him suspiciously. Was he pretending last week didn't happen?

"Isabella", I replied cooly. His smile seemed to freeze for a second.

"I thought you prefered Bella", he said, sounding confused.

"That's for friends", I said, turning away from him again.

He went deathly still next to me, not even breathing anymore. I wondered if it was smart to antagonize a vampire for a moment, but thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at then. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had tobseparate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label thembaccordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.

"Get started," he commanded.

"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I stared at him like an idiot.

"Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.

"No," I said, flushing angrily. "I'll go ahead."

I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for. It should bebeasy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.

My assessment was confident. "Prophase."

"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.

I glared at him, angry that he would doubt my assessment and angry that my heart started beating faster at the touch.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.

"Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.

"Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.

I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"

He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.

I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.

"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.

He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.

I took the most fleeting look I could manage.

"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and while he was distracted, I wrote the answer down.

We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.

Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him… unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he wasbstaring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes.

His eyes were golden today. I assumed that meant he had fed recently, but the color was fascinating to me - I had never even heard that a vampires eyes could be a color besides red or black.

I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.

Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.

"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Actually, she identified three of the five", Edward said before I could defend myself.

Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.

"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.

"Not with onion root", I said, trying not to sound angry.

"Whitefish blastula?"

"Yeah."

Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"

"Yes."

"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners", he mumbledbas he walked away. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked. I had the feeling that he was forcing himself tobmake small talk with me. Did he listen in on my conversations to find something to contradict me on?

"Not really", I replied coolly, still not looking at him.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question, so I didn't reply.

I could practically feel his frustration oozing off of him and I smirked just a little, feeling immensely satisfied.

"I'm sorry for my behaviour last week", Edward said finally. "I understand that I may have come off strangely, but it had nothing to do with you."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure. So you react like that to every new person you meet? You looked like you wanted to kill me."

I got the pleasure of watching him flinch slightly.

"I'm sorry", he repeated. "It was out of character. I'm usually much more polite."

When I looked up at him, he was wearing a self-deprecating smile. I frowned at him suspiciously.

"Why did you act like that then?"

"It's... complicated", he hedged. It's vampire stuff, I translated.

"Hmpf", I said, turning away again.

"Why did you move to Forks if you dislike the cold so much?" He asked, seeming openly desperate for small talk now.

"It's complicated", I echoed him, and didn't elaborate further.

Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen, glad for the excuse to stop this horrible discussion.

As much as he'd wanted to talk to me before, I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning awaybfrom me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.

It's complicated, I mocked him in my head again, trying to be an adult and not antagonize him further.

I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, whatnI had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.

When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. Unlike last Monday, I stared after him in fury.

Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me.

"That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."

"I didn't have any trouble with it," I said, stung by his assumption. I regretted the snub instantly. "Sorry, I've donebthe lab before," I added before he could get his feelings hurt.

"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seembpleased about it.

I couldn't keep my eyes from rolling. "He's awful", I groaned. Mike smiled at me.

The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot after school was over, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.

I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction. I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste. Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal of.

I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, andbcautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but fromva peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing.

  
  


I drove to La Push straight after school, thinking that spending time with Jake would do wonders to calm me down.

I pulled up to the Black's house, ringing the doorbell and waiting impatiently. When Billy opened the door, I realized that Jacob might still be in school.

"Hey, Billy", I said anyways, smiling, "Is Jake around?"

"Oh, Bella", he said, "No, he's still in school. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah", I said, breathing in deeply. I could hear that Billy had a visitor, and it kind of smelled like he'd been out in the forest recently. "I just had a horrible day at school and didn't want to go home straight away - I can leave if you're busy..."

"No, no", Billy said, wheeling backwards and waving me in. "Come in, come in. I have a guest right now, but you can make yourself some tea and work in the garage until Jacob comes home. You're always welcome here, Bella."

"Thank you", I said, touched. "That means a lot to me."

Billy drove into the living room while I took off my shoes and jacket. "Sam, Charlie's daughter, Bella Swan's here to visit", I heard him say to his guest.

I stepped into the room, getting a look at a tall, young man sitting at the table before he sprung to his feet, causing the chair to go flying. His body seemed to blur and change, and then there was a giant black wolf growling in my face.

"Sam!" Billy said, shocked.

I gaped at the wolf as he continued to growl and sniff at me. I didn't know much about wolf behaviour, but everything told me that this wolf was very tense.

I had no idea what to do.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Billy said, pushing himself between me and the wolf, who was also a boy called Sam. I stumbled back.

Sam growled again.

"That's just Bella, Sam!" Billy argued, "She's been coming here for years, you've met her before!"

Sam flicked his ears, starting to look confused. His tail swished from side to side uncertainty as we stared at each other.

"Sam, I don't know what's wrong." Billy said again, sounding remarkably calm about the whole thing. "Can you turn back and tell me?"

Sam slowly backed away and nodded his head at Billy. He closed his eyes and - nothing happened. I looked at Billy confusedly. He shrugged.

"Sam's still new at this, so he hasn't quite figured the transformations out yet. Why don't you sit down?"

"I", I said, feeling even more confused. "Sure. Sure."

I sat down heavily, resting my head on the table. What kind of day is this?

"What's wrong?" Billy asked, and I heard another human move. I lifted my head to look at the boy and then slammed it down again as I realized he was naked.

"She smells like a vampire", Sam said, sounding shaken. "Not - not exactly, but close enough to surprise me."

"What?" I said, staring at him, shocked. "You know about Vampires?"

"You know about Vampires?" Billy asked, sounding shocked too.

"Um", I said, flushing. "It's complicated."

"Why do you smell like them?" Sam asked.

"I - I mean, I sit next to Edward Cullen in Biology?" I said, lying through my teeth. Badly.

"Bella", Billy chastised me.

"Sorry", I mumbled. "It's just not something I talk about very often."

"So you know the reason?"

"Yes", I said, twisting my fingers nervously. "Why do you know about Vampires?"

Billy's frowned at me. "I'll tell you if you tell your story first."

"Right", I said. That was fair. "So I'm kind of a hybrid? Between vampires and humans."

"What?" Sam said, jumping to his feet again as Billy wheeled himself away from the table in shock. "How does that work?"

"Well", I said, flushing, "My great-great grandfather met my great-great-grandmother while she was a human and she got pregnant."

Sam flushed too, and sat back down.

"And then my great grandma had my grandma, who had my mom, who had me."

"So you have some... vampire blood?" Billy asked, frowning. "I didn't know that was possible."

"I wouldn't call it blood", I said, "But yes, essentially."

"But it's pretty far back", Sam said, relaxing, "So it's diluted by now."

I hesitated, but I didn't want to lie to Billy, so I shook my head. "It doesn't really work like that. I'm not 10% Vampire, 90% human or anything like that. We're a different thing, I guess."

I shrugged. "There's not really enough of us to say anything for sure, but we all have different traits. I smell a lot like a human, but my mother smells more vampire ish than my grandma. I don't know why."

"Do you drink blood?" Sam asked, frowning.

"No!" I replied immediately. "Of course not! I mean, I could", I backpadled slightly, "But I never have and never will. I don't have the same thirst as vampires."

"That's good", Sam said.

"How many of those... hybrids are there?" Billy asked.

"That I know of? Nine, I think. There might be more that I'm not aware of."

"Hm", Billy said.

"So why can you turn into a wolf?" I asked Sam directly. He glanced at Billy before answering.

"It's not really something we share with outsiders. A long time ago, our tribe was being hunted by a vampire - a cold one, as we call them. Taha Aki, the Chief of our tribe, developed the ability to phase into a wolf and killed the cold one. Ever since then, we made it our duty to protect the tribe from their attacks."

"Oh", I said quietly. "Isn't that dangerous?"

Sam blinked. "We can keep up with them."

I nodded. "And the Cullens? They're very close to you."

"We have a treaty with them, since the last time they were here, in the time of my grandfather. They stay away from our land and don't bite humans, and we leave them alone and don't kill them unless they break the treaty first", Billy explained. "Can you turn people into vampires or hybrids?"

"No", I said, "Some of us can, but I can't turn people. Into vampires, I mean. Hybrids can only be born. If I ever have children, they'll be like me."

"Hm", Billy said. "We'll need to discuss this with the Council, but as long as you don't hurt humans, I don't see a problem with you coming here. You aren't a cold one."

"Thank you", I said, suddenly realizing how close I'd come to seeing my best friend less. "Does Jacob know about this?"

"He knows the stories", Billy said, "But he thinks they're nothing but legends. Don't tell him about it, Bella."

"I - alright", I said, wondering why, but not quite daring to ask.

"Does Charlie know?" Billy asked suddenly, face tight with an emotion I couldn't quite describe.

"No", I said, "Mom didn't want to risk it. There's this group of Vampires, the Volturi, that keep the other vampires from revealing themselves and if they got wind of a human knowing about them, they'd probably eat him."

We sat in silence for a while, until Billy said: "Well, Bella, do you still want to wait for Jacob?"

"Yeah", I replied, "I'll work on the car, if that's alright with you?"

"Of course", Billy said, pushing himself through the room. "I'll go find you some clothes, Sam."

"Thanks", the boy said, face turning slightly red. I smiled at him as I walked towards the garage.   
  


At least I was distracted from my anger at Edward.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the week continued more normally, apart from the fact that Edward Cullen kept trying to talk to me. And I was not going to give in.

His absolute inaptitute at making conversation wasn't making it easier for me.

One day it was, "Do you like baseball?", the next he tried to tell me about classical music, then architecture, then classical literature, like he was running through a list of all his hobbies to see if I'd be willing to talk to him about any of them.

When he asked me what I thought of the newest Miss America, I let my head fall to the table.

"How are you so bad at this", I said.

"I'm usually much better", he said, sounding embarassed.

"So you're not only friends with your family because you're bad at talking?" I asked sarcastically, lifting my head in time to see a delighted smile on his lips, which I thought was disgusting and not cute at all. "Could have fooled me."

He laughed a beautiful laugh. I frowned.

"Why do you keep trying?"

He blinked, running a hand through his hair. "I suppose I just find you too intruiging to leave you alone."

I ignored my heart fluttering at that statement.

"And what makes me so intruiging?"

"You are... a mystery. I am usually quite good at figuring people out, but with you I find myself floundering."

I blinked. "My mom says I'm an open book."

"Not to me", he said, smiling a beautiful, wisteful smile that I found myself returning.

"Claire de Lune is one of my favorite pieces", I told him quietly, enjoying the surprise on his face. "You asked, earlier."

The bell rang, and I got up, feeling his stare on me until I left the classroom.

Steps hurried after me, and I slowed down a little to let Mike catch up to me.

"What did you say to him?"

I gave him a startled look. "Nothing much, why?"

"He looks like he's gonna cry!" Mike grinned broadly, apparently delighted by the gossip.

I felt my face heat up. "He just asked about my taste in music", I mumbled.

"Does he like you?" Mike said, stopping in his tracks.

"No!" I said, flushing harder.

"Do you like him?"

"NO!" I yelled, then hid my face in my hands as people turned to stare at me.

"You do like him", Mike said sceptically.

"No", I said into my hands. "He's an idiot, I hate him."

"Huh", Mike said disbeliefingly.

I didn't respond to Edward the next day.

"I don't like him", I told the motor of Jake's new car this Saturday. "I don't!"

"Mhm", Jacob said sceptically. 

"He's just so earnest", I complained, "He really tries! It's sweet."

"Mhm", Jacob said again, sounding exasperated.

Weeks went by in much the same manner. Edward would start talking to me, and I'd reply, until I remembered that he was a vampire and therefore wasn't the best person to -date- hang around with and that I had my own secrets to keep. Then I'd stop responding.

The highlight of the whole month happened in La Push, when I met Sam again.

I had just left the garage, when I noticed Sam coming from the front door. He gave me a nod.

"Do you need a lift somewhere?" I asked.

"Not really", Sam said, "I could run. But it would be a good opportunity, if you'd like to talk."

I hesitated for a moment, before my curiosity got the better of me and I held the door open for him.

"Where to?" I asked as I started the car.

"Left at that branch-off and then straight on."

"Have you ever fought a vampire?" I said after a few minutes of silence.

"Not yet", Sam replied. "We have strategies we learned from our stories, and we know how to fight instinctivly, but there hasn't been a vampire on our territory yet. Have you?"

I shook my head. "I haven't met any vampires apart from the Cullens. My great-grandma gave me some lessons on self defense, but - I don't like fighting. I'm glad you didn't have to fight one yet. I don't want you to get hurt."

Sam looked surprised, then laughed lightly. "You don't need to worry about us. We're meant to protect our tribe from the Cold Ones. We can keep up with them. Does your great-grandmother fight with Vampires often?"

"I still hope you don't get hurt", I said quietly. "And yes, she - she doesn't do it because it's fun, but she has very little patience for vampires and most don't walk away if she catches wind of them."

"Good", Sam said. "The third house on the right."

"Who's 'we'?" I asked as I pulled into the driveway.

"My pack", Sam said, grinning fondly. "Me, Jared and Paul. Paul's only started shifting this month, Jared's been with me a while longer. We work together well. Are you as strong as a vampire?"

"I haven't wrestled with one", I said, grinning too, "But generally, yes. About as fast and indestructable too."

"If you ever want to wrestle, let me know", Sam said, "It'd be nice to test ourselves against a worthy opponent."

I laughed. "I'll think about it", I said. "Thank you for still letting me come here. I know it must not be easy."

"Our enemies are vampires", Sam said seriously. "You aren't one, even if you are related to them. The Elders and I talked about it, but", he shrugged, "You're not really a threat and you've never caused problems here. You don't even cause us to start shifting."

"What do you mean?" I asked, surprised. "I thought you transformed because you smelled me."

"No, I meant the first shift. The ability to shift is dormant until we meet or smell a vampire for the first time. Then we have some physical changes, until we're ready to shift. If you activated it, there would have been shifters appearing much earlier than now."

"Oh", I said. "Can Jacob shift?"

"There's no way to know until it happens, but it's passed down in families and he gets it from both sides, so..."

"Probably", I sighed, resting my head on the steering wheel. I hoped he wouldn't be angry with me for keeping secrets from him.

"Thanks for the drive", Sam said.

"No problem", I replied. "Oh, a classmate of mine is planning a party on First Beach in a few weeks. I'm going to be there, in case you want to come say hello."

Sam smiled and closed the door.

Then the true hell started. Forks High School had a spring dance.

It started with Jessica calling me to ask if it was alright for her to ask Mike to the dance.

"Are you sure you don't mind… you weren't planning to ask him?" she persisted when I told her I didn'tmind in the least.

"No, Jess, I'm not going", I assured her. I did not like dancing or parties.

"It will be really fun." She attempted to convince me.

"You have fun with Mike," I encouraged.

The next day, I was surprised that Jessica wasn't her usual gushing self in Trig and Spanish. She was silent as she walked by my side between classes, and I was afraid to ask her why. If Mike had turned herdown, I was the last person she would want to tell.

My fears were strengthened during lunch when Jessica sat as far from Mike as possible, chattinganimatedly with Eric. Mike was unusually quiet.

Mike was still quiet as he walked me to class, the uncomfortable look on his face a bad sign. But hedidn't broach the subject until I was in my seat and he was perched on my desk.

I tried my best to ignore Edward sitting next to me.

"So," Mike said, looking at the floor, "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."

"That's great." I made my voice bright and enthusiastic. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."

"Well…" He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response. "I told her I had to think about it."

"Why would you do that?" I let disapproval color my tone, though I was relieved he hadn't given her an absolute no.

His face was bright red as he looked down again. Pity shook my resolve.

"I was wondering if… well, if you might be planning to ask me."

I paused for a moment, hating the wave of guilt that swept through me. But I saw, from the corner of my eye, Edward's head tilt reflexively in my direction.

"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I said.

"Did you already ask someone?" Did Edward notice how Mike's eyes flickered in his direction?

"No," I assured him. "I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?" Mike demanded.

"I don't like dancing or parties", I told him honestly. "I'll probably go to Seattle that Saturday."

"Oh", Mike said, "But I'm sure we'd have lots of fun."

"Sorry", I said, "Jess would be really happy of you went with her. And Mike - I think you're a very good friend."

I stressed the word friend, hoping that it was both clear and not rude. I did honestly like Mike, but not like he seemed to like me.

"Alright", he mumbled, glaring at Edward before slinking off. I nearly felt bad enough to call after him, but I didn't want him to hurt more later - or to hurt Jessica's feelings. I sighed, feeling Edward look at me.

"You don't like dancing?" Edward asked.

"No, I love dancing", I said with a straight face. He frowned and I turned away, feeling guilty, annoyed and anxious that I had ruined my friendship with Mike.

I spent the rest of the day brooding.

After school, Angela pulled my into the girl's bathroom with a red face.

"Do you want to go to the ball with me?" she asked, and I felt my heart drop.

"I'm sorry", I said quietly, "I'm going to Seattle that weekend."

"Oh", she said even quieter and we stood awkwardly in front of each other.

"You can come with me?" I offered, hoping she wouldn't take it to mean more than friendship.

"No, I'll ask someone else", she said, fleeing the bathroom with what looked like tears in her eyes.

I felt horrible as I listened to her fast footsteps and shaking breaths leaving the school. Great, I thought, two ruined friendships in one day.

If Mike and Angela both didn't want to talk to me anymore, I'd actually die. I felt tears spring to my own eyes, so I turned to the mirror and wiped them away.

I just wanted to go home.

When I stepped out of the building, Edward was waiting for me. I closed my eyes, counted to ten and tried to look neutral.

"Hello, Isabella", he said, very politely, "Would you do me the honor of going to the spring ball with me?"

I could physically feel my temper rising. "It's girl's choice!" I nearly yelled, feeling tears of anger spring to my eyes. This day was the absolute worst, I might have lost two friends and now he was asking me out?

"And you heard me tell Mike that I'm not going because I hate dancing!"

"You said you loved dancing", Edward replied, eyes going wide.

"I was being sarcastic!" I turned away from him and stomped off to my car, almost cracking the pavement in my anger.

I slammed the door to my truck shut, wiping tears from my eyes. As I drove off, I got a good look at Edward's face - he looked shocked and surprised. I heard one of the other Vampires laugh loudly and when I twisted in my seat, I saw the biggest of them doubled over in laughter.

Well, at least one person was having fun today.

That evening I cried myself to sleep. I already knew that I would be tired the next day because of it, but when I woke up, it was the middle of the night.

I was on my feet before I was fully awake, but then I registered it - Edward was in my room.

"What are you doing?!" I hissed, heart beating fast.

"I thought you were asleep", he said, taking a step back.

"Were you planning on killing me?" I asked, feeling desperation well up inside me. Dad - he was sleeping too, what if he got hurt.

"No!" Edward insisted, raising his hands, like that meant anything.

"So what, you just wanted to watch me sleep, like a stalker?!"

"No", Edward said again, seeming - embarrassed. "I just wanted - I'm sorry, I'll leave."

"No!" I said angrily, "Explain what you're doing here!"

His eyes slid to the window and I pushed my foot out to trip him as he tried to rush out.

He stared up at me as I glared at him. "Does your father know you're here?"

"Carlise?" Edward said, eyes widening.

"If you don't tell me what you're doing here, I'll tell him you tried to kill me", I said. Edward flinched.

"Don't tell him, please, he doesn't know I'm here."

"So?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Explain yourself."

He frowned, looking around the room. "I just wanted to practice."

"Practice what?" I said, raising my second eyebrow too.

"Smelling you", he said.

I stared at him, and he looked back.

"Do you realize how creepy that sounds?" I asked, feeling like I was having an out of body experience because of how surreal the whole situation was.

"Not like that!" Edward yelled, "I'm a vampire!"

"That just makes it worse!" I shouted back. "What the fuck!"

"Ok", he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can we take a step back and calm down? I'll explain."

"Take a seat", I said sarcastically, pointing at my old rocking chair. Edward threw himself into it in the span of half a second and buried his face in his hands.

I crossed my arms and waited.

"I'm a vampire", he repeated.

"I heard you", I said cooly.

"You don't seem surprised", he noted.

"None of you are very good at pretending to be human", I said. Much worse than I was. "You don't even pretend to eat!"

"People don't watch us that closely", Edward said, "Apart from you, apparently."

"So you broke into my room because you're a vampire and you wanted to smell me", I said. He said he didn't want to eat me, but - I wasn't sure if I should believe him.

"We don't eat humans", Edward explained, "My whole family doesn't. We call ourselves vegetarian vampires. I didn't come here to hurt you."

"Why are you here then?"

"It can be hard for us to control ourselves sometimes", Edward said, "We all mostly have it figured out, but you - you're different. Your smell to me is the most amazing thing I could ever imagine and your taste would be even better."

His voice had quieted to a whisper. "It's as if you were a drug I was addicted to. When you stepped into that room, that first lesson - it took everything I had not to jump you right then, regardless of the other people in the room. They were all just collateral."

His voice had gone cold with hatred as I stared at him.

"By the next morning I was in Alaska." He sounded ashamed, as if admitting a great cowardice. "I spent two days there, with some old aquaintances… but I was homesick. I hated knowing I'd upset Esme, and the rest of them, my adopted family. In the pure air of the mountains it was hard to believe you were so irresistible. I convinced myself it was weak to run away. I'd dealt with temptation before, not of this magnitude, not even close, but I was strong. Who were you, an insignificant little girl" — he grinned suddenly — "to chase me from the place I wanted to be? So I came back…" He stared off into space.

I couldn't speak.

"I took precautions, hunting, feeding more than usual before seeing you again. I was sure that I was strong enough to treat you like any other human. I was arrogant about it."

He looked back at me. "But then I tried to talk to you. I have a talent that let's me read the minds of everyone around me - with one exception."

I felt my breath catch in my throat.

"I wanted you to forget my behavior that first day, if possible, so I tried to talk with you like I would with any person. I was eager actually, hoping to decipher some of your thoughts. But you were too interesting, I found myself caught up in your expressions… Of course, I doesn't happen often that someone has the upper hand in a conversation with me, but you managed it easily, every day and I wanted to - needed to figure you out. I hated being away from you, I wanted to spend more time with you but you blocked me from it.

It would be safer for both of us if I had just given up, but I couldn't - I needed to be close to you.

And every now and then you would stir the air with your hand or your hair, and the scent would stun me again… I came here because I wanted to try dealing with your scent when I didn't have to concentrate on talking to you. I'm sorry."

We stared at each other in silence as I tried to process his words. His expression was gentle and open. I shakily moved back and sat down on my computer chair.

My scent was like a drug to him, and he taught I was smart and wanted to be around me.

"I don't know what to say", I told him quietly.

"It's alright", he said, "I understand. Please don't tell anyone what I am and I'll stay away from you."

I nodded without looking at him, and he left the room through the window.

He didn't come to school the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't proofread and I'm not sorry about it lmao  
> If you find mistakes you can tell me and I might fix them. Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

Edward didn't show up back in school for the rest of the week. I was alright with that, surprising myself. I had called my grandma, asking about his comments, and she told me about singers.

"Most vampires who meet one just kill them right away", she had said. "I'm surprised he just sat there the whole hour."

I didn't know how to feel about this yet.

His siblings were at school like normal, so I knew they hadn't panicked and left the town because he told me, and I tried not to pay too much attention to them when I spotted them in the cafeteria.

This worked, until I saw the blonde getting up while I was buying lunch with Jessica.

I tried not to stare as she walked over to me, but internally, I was panicking. When she was almost right behind me, I couldn't stand it anymore and turned around.

"Hello, Isabella", she said, smiling tightly at me, "Would you like to sit with me today?"

"Uh", I said, before my brain caught up with my mouth. "Sure. Rosalie, right?"

She nodded at me, and walked over to a small table, away from her siblings.

I stood there, staring after her. Next to me, Jessica squealed.

"Oh no", I whispered quietly.

"Bella!" Jessica said, tugging on my arm. "You never said you knew her!"

"I don't", I said honestly, "I don't know why she wants to sit with me. I hope she doesn't want to talk about Edward."

"Oh, do you think she wants to tell you off for curving him?" Jessica wondered aloud, and my face grew red.

"You heard about that?" I said weakly.

Jessica laughed. "Bella, I think the whole school heard about that. That was the first time we saw Edward getting shot down, instead of the other way round!"

"Oh no", I groaned.

"Tell me what she said!" Jessica commanded and gave me a slight push in her direction.

I shot her a betrayed look, but squared my shoulders and walked over to Rosalie.

It felt a lot like walking towards my funeral.

"So", I said, once I had sat down, glancing at her nervously. "Is this about Edward?"

Rosalie sighed, playing with a ring on her finger. "Yes, of course it is."

I sat up straighter, taken aback by her annoyed tone.

"Oh, excuse me", she said, noticing my reaction. "I'm not mad at you, you did nothing wrong. It's just -"

She shook her head, sighing again.

"We aren't supposed to let people know we exist. There's a group of vampires - the Volturi - that enforce rules like this through violent means. I don't mean to scare you, but if the wrong people catch wind of what Edward did, it could place both of you in danger."

"Oh", I said, feeling awkward. "I don't think he thought about that."

"Yes, I am aware that he tends to not think at all", Rosalie says. "I just wanted to warn you and - look, if he makes you uncomfortable or pressures you in any way, tell me and I will make him stop. If he makes you uncomfortable at school, shout my name and I will come and stop him immediately."

I stared at her wordlessly for a moment.

"Um, thank you", I said then, thoughts wirrling. Of all the things I expected her to bring up, this wasn't even on the list.

"What he did, breaking into your room like that, that's not behaviour I or the rest of my family condones. We had quite the fight about it when he told me about it and I promise you he won't do it again."

"Is that why he's not in school?" I asked, feeling strangely touched by this vampire's concern for me.

"I told him to stay away until he can act like a reasonable person."

"Oh", I said quietly. "You can let him come back. I don't really mind his - his flirting? Just - tell him to knock next time."

"You don't have to coddle his feelings", Rosalie said determinedly, "He's just sulking, he'll get over it."

"I'm not", I protested, "Really - I don't mind. It's kind of cute, how bad he is at it."

"Alright", Rosalie said, sounding surprised. "I thought you were quite against his... advances."

I blushed. "He was - the first lesson we had together, he acted like he hated me and I didn't know why", I said, lying through my teeth. "I didn't know what to think about it."

"And now he explained that it was because he's a vampire and you're fine with that?" Rosalie lifted one perfect eyebrow and I blushed deeper.

"I mean, I know what I'm at now, I guess? I just..." I hesitated, glancing at her. "It doesn't seem to be a good idea to date a vampire."

"Unless you're also a vampire, it's really not", Rosalie said quietly. "I don't recommend it."

Jessica questioned me on the conversation all throughout spanish.

"I thought they'd be the kind of family to help each other hide bodies", she whispered.

"Me too", I whispered back. "Honestly, I think they still are, but Rosalie seems really passionate about respect."

"They just politely kill rapists", Jessica giggled.

"She lectures them first", I added, smiling. "Until they regret their actions, and then she kills them."

"Don't you think she makes her boyfriend do it so she doesn't get her hands dirty?"

"No", I laughed, "I think she manages to kill them without having one hair out of place."

That weekend was Mike's trip to La Push, which I was looking forward to, especially when I was woken up by the sun that morning.

I didn't stop grinning the entire morning as I got ready.

When I pulled up to the meeting place - in front of Mikes' family's shop - most people seemed to already be there. 

Mike, Tyler and Eric were there, along with two other boys I had class with; I was fairly sure their names were Ben and Conner. Jess was there, flanked by Angela and Lauren. Three other girls stood with them, one I recognized from gym class.

Lauren gave me an angry look I didn't quite understand, but Angela and Jess seemed happy to see me, as was Mike, who greeted me cheerfully.

"You came!" he called, delighted. "And I said it would be sunny today, didn't I?"

"I told you I was coming," I reminded him, "And I'd never miss a sunny day on the beach."

"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha… unless you invited someone," Mike added with a grin.

"No one from Forks", I said lightly, "I just told some friends from La Push to come visit."

"I didn't know you had friends in La Push", Mike said, sounding surprised.

"My dad's best friend is Billy Black", I told him, "I used to spend most of my summers there while they went fishing."

"Alright", Mike said easily. "Want to ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan."

"Sure", I said, and went to talk to Jess and Angela.

"Hey, Bella", Jess greeted, "You must be ecstatic to see the sun again!"

"I am", I said, grinning. "I nearly thought I had forgotten how nice it felt."

"You look like you're glowing", Angela said quietly and I flushed.

"Didn't bother inviting your boyfriend?" Lauren said snittingly.

"Who?" I said, before realizing she must have meant Edward. "He's not -"

"Oh, come on, Lauren", Jess said, sounding annoyed. "Don't be a bitch."

"I'm not being a bitch!" Lauren insisted, "What's so special about you?"

"What?" I said, racking my brain for moments where Lauren could have picked up that I wasn't human. I thought I was better than the Cullens at hiding it, but maybe I wasn't and she was about to confront me -

"It's not Bella's fault Edward's not into you", Jessica said, "She's my friend, so - just get over it!"

The two of them glared at each other, and I looked at Angela, floundering. She shook her head, and pulled me away.

"What was that about?" I asked quietly.

"Lauren asked Edward to the spring dance with her", Angela explained, "And he said no, and then asked you the same day."

"Oh", I said, pulling a face.

"Yeah", Angela agreed, "She'll get over it."

Lauren rode in the other car, away from Jessica, Angela and me.

At least the First Beach was as beautiful as always.

We gathered around a driftwood fire, watching the colorful flames and chatting.

After about half an hour, some of the boys decided they wanted to hike to the nearby tide pools. I agreed to come with them immediately - I had loved the tide pools ever since I was a child.

Mike, Jessica and Angela all wanted to go hiking too, as well as Ben and Connor, the others remained on the beach.

The hike wasn't long, and the path familiar to me.

We walked through the thick forest, the others laughing and bantering while I enjoyed the green light filtering through the trees.

Eventually we broke out of the forest and back onto the rocky shore. It was low tide then, so we had perfect access to the ocean ponds.

The others jumped around from rock to rock and pond to pond, but I sat down at my favorite pond and watched the sea life flourish there.

Even the striped eel Jake had christened Peter Peterson was waving through the bright green weeds today!

When some of the boys complained about being hungry, the group started walking back and I got up to join them.

As we got back to First Beach, I spotted some familiar faces had joined our group.

Grinning I jogged forward, faster than the rest of our group and shouted: "JAKE!" at the top of my lungs.

"BELLA!" He yelled back, waving wildly. "I SAVED YOU FOOD!"

"They're eating already?" Mike exclaimed, mock offended. "We need to hurry!"

Mike and I raced down to the driftwood circle. I let him win, and he bounced up to Erik and demanded food immediately.

I smiled and waved at Sam, who was sitting next to a boy just as tall as him, who I guessed was either Jared or Paul and he nodded back.

I sat down on the rocks near the fire next to Jacob, who handed me a sandwich and a grilled sausage.

The rest of our hiking group followed more slowly, and Angela slipped onto the rock next to me after having grabbed her own food and a soda, and we smiled at each other.

"I saw Peter Peterson today", I told Jacob seriously, and he nodded back, just as straight faced.

"Is he enjoying the sun today?"

"Yes, it seemed like he was having a great afternoon", I said before losing my composure and breaking into giggles.

"I won!" Jacob exclaimed, grinning proudly and causing me to laugh harder.

"Peter Peterson is an eel who lives in one of the tide pools", I explained to Angela who was smiling at us confusedly.

"Oh", she said. "Why did you call him that?"

"He looks like a Peter", Jacob chimed in.

"And he's way too serious not to have a last name", I added, taking a bite out of my sandwich.

Angela shook her head and laughed quietly.

While we ate, clouds started to drift over the sky. I casted a forlorn glance at the last bits of blue being swallowed and then kicked Jake in the leg when he laughed at me.

As they finished eating, people started to drift away in twos and threes. Some walked down to the edge of the waves, trying to skip rocks across the choppy surface. Others were gathering a second expedition to the tide pools. 

Mike — with Jessica shadowing him — headed up to the one shop in the village. 

Some of the local kids went with them; others went along on the hike. By the time they all had scattered, Jacob and I were left sitting alone on our rock with Lauren and Tyler occupying themselves by the CD player someone had thought to bring, and Sam and his friend sitting on a log by the fire.

"You know Bella, Jacob?" Lauren asked — in what I imagined was an insolent tone — from across the fire.

"Of course", Jacob said, "We've been friends for ages."

"How nice." She didn't sound like she thought it was nice at all, and her eyes narrowed.

"Bella," she called again, watching my face carefully, "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of concern was unconvincing.

I wondered again if she had noticed something or knew something about them - or me. Before I could respond, however, Sam said: "You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?"

Lauren seemed irritated by his interruption, and only turned to face him halfways.

"Yes, do you know them?" she asked.

"The Cullens don't come here," he said in a tone that closed the subject, ignoring her question.

Tyler, trying to win back her attention, asked Lauren's opinion on a CD he held. She was distracted.

I frowned at her, feeling strange. Angela said she had asked Edward to the spring ball. Was this really only about her slighted feelings?

"What's up with her?" Jacob whispered into my ear, and I hissed back just as quietly: "I curved the guy who curved her over the spring ball."

Jacob stifled a laugh behind his hand, and I heard Sam snort quietly.

When I swiveled my head around to give him an affronted look he smiled shamelessly.

"Want to go on a quick walk, Bella?" He asked, tone light, though his eyes became serious again.

"Sure", I said, rolling my eyes at Jacob's surprised huff behind me. "I can have friends without you as a mediator", I told him, "Don't act so surprised!"

"And you don't only have friends in school because someone took you under their wing immediately", Jacob said, but he grinned so I knew it was a joke.

"Why did she ask you about the Cullens?" Sam said once we were out of earshot of everyone except Jared-or-Paul, probably.

I sighed, and rubbed at my forehead.

"I don't really know", I admitted. "Angela said it's because she was angry that Edward Cullen asked me to the spring dance after she had already asked him and he shot her down. It just seems a bit much for teenage jealousy, somehow."

"Hm", Sam said. "One of the vampires asked you to a dance?"

"Yes", I admitted with a sigh. "He has a really strange crush on me. Apparently I smell very tasty and he can't read my thoughts, so he decided to flirt with me until he understands me."

I froze suddenly as a thought occurred to me. "That's not against your treaty, is it?"

"Revealing their existence to humans or trying to date one?" Sam asked sardonically, "Unless he mentioned us, no."

"Oh, good", I said, shoulders sagging in relief. "I wouldn't want to cause a - war between you."

Sam nodded at me, then paused. "Can he read other people's minds?"

"What?" I asked, confused by the change in topic.

"Edward", Sam clarified, "You said he can't read your mind. Does that mean he can read other people's?"

"Yeah", I nodded, pulling a face.

Sam mirrored me. "Gross", he muttered. "I didn't know they could do that."

"It's not all of them", I hurried to clarify. "Some vampires have special powers, but it's very rare."

"You guys too?" Sam asked, sounding curious.

"Some of us", I said, "My mother can transfer or share emotions between people, and my grandmother can make herself slip from people's notice. Oh, and apparently my mind is unreadable."

"Doesn't sound very rare", Sam said sceptically.

I shrugged. "It might be genetic, somewhat."

"So hybrids with a special power have children with special powers, too", Sam muttered. "Interesting."

We walked in silence for a while, until Sam said, incredulously: "Are you going to date him?"

I stopped abruptly, staring at him. Had I said that?

"You sound very fond of him", Sam explained.

"Oh", I said, flushing. "Do you really want to hear about my love life?"

"It sounds eventful", Sam joked, before sobering again. "I just don't understand why anyone would be interested in a cold one, I guess."

"I don't know if I want to date him", I admitted quietly. "Vampires aren't enemies to me, necessarily, and he doesn't eat humans. But he said I smell like a drug to him, more than other people, and I don't know if I could defend myself if he ever lost control. Apart from that... I could see myself with him, maybe. But I'd have to tell him what I am eventually, and I don't know if I trust him that much."

I shook my head. "I might try something more casual at first? I don't know. Would that be a problem?"

"Would you stop if I said yes?" Sam asked, looking at me strangely.

"Of course", I said, looking back.

"It's not a problem, as long as he doesn't eat you or try to turn you", Sam said with a sigh. "Let's go back before Jacob comes protesting."

I snorted.


End file.
